With the administration planning administrative cutbacks and students concerned about financial aid and job prospects, Washington University continues to feel the effects of the ongoing economic crisis.

The state of the economy has had a profound impact on the job market. According to the Bureau of Labor, the national unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent in December, with employers shedding more than half a million jobs.

Students recognize that the tighter economy may mean a tougher job search.

“I’m kind of looking at a list of things—jobs, grad school, whatever opportunities might come up,” senior Gregory Auclair, an English and international and area studies major, said. “I think the opportunities are out there—you have to find them.”

“There are always places for really talented people,” Chancellor Mark Wrighton said.

Institutions of higher education worldwide are feeling the effects of the crisis on their endowments. The University’s endowment dropped sharply in the 2008 fiscal year, falling about 25 percent from its all-time high of $5.66 billion to $4.22 billion, as of Dec. 3.

The administration is now cutting back on hiring, but will still add some new staff.

“Even though we are not constrained we will be careful. We do not have a hiring freeze and we will be adding faculty,” Wrighton said. “We are recruiting right now. We will be doing this selectively.”

Staff consolidation is taking place. According to Wrighton, the University will not lay off professors.

The funding used to employ researchers on campus is variable. If the University does not receive sufficient funding, in the form of grants, the school will not be able to keep as many research scientists on staff.

Despite the volatile state of the economy, University research funding remains strong.

“We’re a very strong research institution,” Wrighton said.

According to Wrighton, the University has recently received a number of research grants.

The University received a grant of $12 million in order to forward research into clean coal technology. The Danforth Foundation also made a contribution of $10 million to the endowment for medical research.

Wrighton expects that the federal government, with the incoming Barack Obama administration, will play a role in expanding research opportunities at the University.

“The federal government, particularly the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is our largest single sponsor,” Wrighton said. “President-elect Obama in his campaign said he would favor doubling the NIH budget over 10 years.”

But many are concerned about how the current economy affects the University’s ability to extend financial aid to current and future students.

“Considering I plan to go to graduate school, I would prefer if at all possible to not have too much outstanding debt from my undergraduate education,” freshman Jacob Witt said. “In this economy, I have no idea if any funds will be available to help me with this concern.”

In reaction to the economic turmoil, the University anticipates increasing financial aid.

“We are in a position to be more responsible year after year,” Wrighton said. “We hope we can expand the investment. We’re going to strive to have an increase in financial aid that is greater than the increase in tuition.”

Director of Student Financial Services Bill Witbrodt wrote in an e-mail to Student Life that the University will work to ensure that all currently enrolled students will be able to graduate despite any unexpected financial troubles they may encounter.

“I can confirm that Washington University will not let finances stand in the way of enrolled students’ ability to complete their programs and graduate on time,” Witbrodt wrote. “This has always been the position of the University. It’s part of our department’s mission statement.”

So far, Witbrodt said that the University has not seen a measurable increase in financial aid requests but that if they do, the University plans “on being as responsive as it has in the past.”

Despite the financial fallout, Wrighton is confident that the University will persevere.

“Our business is very strong,” Wrighton said. “We’re doing very well.”

No Comments Yet

You can be the first to comment!

 Print This Post

Tags: chancellor wrighton, economy, research

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 5:25 pm and is filed under Academics, Administration, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through this feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.